Artists in Middleburg (AiM)

Goal: $5,000.00

Specific Need

Funds received from Give Choose will be used for general support, enabling us to continue and maintain daily operations. This will allow us to plan, prepare, and execute our art education and art therapy programs, and all opportunites we offer to the community. We give back to the community and local schools by providing a variety of creative disciplines for students of all ages and skill levels.

Help us continue by giving your support!

Mission

To champion creativity in the arts for people of all ages and abilities in our community, especially the youth, through educational programs and exhibitions.

Profile

What we do and what we believe:

AiM has emerged as the essential “go-to” arts organization in the greater Middleburg region that offers new, innovative art educational activities and programming that help fulfill community needs. There is no other organization in Middleburg that offers AiM’s diversity of art opportunities: monthly juried exhibitions, a variety of classes/programs – with special focus on area youth, and outreach to the local schools, including art therapy.
Our goal is to increase art education endeavors (in the broadest sense of the term) by determining community needs – especially for the youth and provide activities that nurture the public while sustaining a financially healthy nonprofit organization. These efforts will include art education for individuals of all ages, abilities, ethnicities, and economic levels. We want to encourage, not discourage, growth and development. We want to inspire creation and the path of ongoing exploration. We want to be a resource for any and all in our community who reach out to us or those we reach through a variety of means.
Accomplishing this goal requires the organization to determine the proper mix of program offerings— educational opportunities, art classes, youth activities, and gallery exhibits; and to strengthen the resources supporting these programs.
Our monthly juried exhibits invite artists of all skill levels within our region to apply. The selection for inclusion in each exhibit is made by a juror (s), someone who possesses a wealth and breadth of knowledge of art and its many mediums and styles. One local resident and artist, Anita Baarns, has provided funds over the past several years to award the Best in Show, Second, and Third place prizes for each exhibit. These distinctions are selected by the juror (s) and have inspired artists to continue their pursuit of excellence and to expand their horizons. It is a benefit for the community to have the art selections juried and not simply the art that the artists want to sell. Artists are also asked to submit a perspective statement about their art selected for each exhibit. This provides a written component, allowing the viewer to learn a little about the work and/or artist. *All exhibits since COVID are on our website because we were not open for in-person viewing during that time. We continue to offer this viewing and information to the public.
This year, two students, an eighth grader from Warrenton and a high school junior from Purcellville, received the Stephen C. Jameson Young Artist Scholarship awarded through AiM. This scholarship will provide mentorship and instruction selected from AiM's excellent source of artists to inspire and continue their growth within the discipline of art. The focus is to foster a deeper understanding and connection to the earth and will involve outdoor experiences, including those with local conservation organizations.
The National Endowment for the Arts is on record stating that “American communities are strengthened through the arts.” AiM is committed to being the driving force for this strength in the Middleburg community. With limited art-focused activities for young people in our community, AiM is expanding opportunities designed to inspire and engage the next generation.
In our Social Media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, we are regularly posting: “Do you know? Art…”. We state the many benefits of art to the child, adult, student, enthusiast, and the public in general, from problem-solving to a safe place to express oneself. We understand art education, in its many forms, is important to our community.
We encourage and welcome engagement from all who want to participate and become involved through collaboration. Our success depends upon the relationships we have built and continue to build.